Code Of Misconduct
by Xpecto Patronum
Summary: When Hermione thought her life was only getting worse, life took it as a challenge. As if facing drastic changes in her personal and professional life wasn't enough, she had to survive yet another twist of events. An insufferable blonde from her past was being thrown in her path once again...more forcefully than ever. *Multiple POVs* -I do not own Harry Potter-
1. Chapter 1

**25th of January, 2006.**

 **Wizengamot, Level 10, Ministry of Magic**

"Miss Hermione Jean Granger, is it true that during the period of thirty one days, starting from the twentieth of December, 2005 and up till the nineteenth of January, 2006 you haven't been present at your office in C.Y.W organization?" asked the old wizard with a face that lacked expression.

"Yes." Hermione replied with a shaky voice. Her eyes scanned the room which was dominated by witches and wizards in plum colored robes. Three men and two women sat in front of her, wearing black robes.

"And is it true that you haven't been in contact with Helena Montgomery who was replacing you over the course of said month?" the wizard asked.

"Yes, but that's because I've already prepared her for almost every emergency that could possible happen, and clearly asked her to owl me in case she needed any assistance." Hermione argued.

"And is it true, Miss Granger, that you were aware of the rather shady history of Alec Earhart and the circumstances of ending his career at Gringotts Bank?" the old wizard eyed Hermione skeptically.

"Yes. And I'd like to point out that I accepted him as an employee based on a formal recommendation made by Mark Odgen, head of the Wizard Reformation Department. I'd like to present him as a witness." Hermione pursued.

"Mark Dimitrius Odgen" the old wizard called. A young weedy man with short brown hair, thin rounded glasses and fragile looking features, started walking towards Hermione until he was standing next to her.

"Your wand please, Mr. Odgen." the old wizard requested politely.

Mark Odgen handed over his wand with shaky hands. He was attending a trial for the first time in his life and the whole situation disoriented him. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he clumsily adjusted his glasses.

"Mr. Odgen, was Alec Earhart one of the subjects of the wizard reformation program?" the old wizard asked, handing back the wand to Mark after performing the regular identification spells.

"Y-yes..I studied his case myself." Mark replied in a barely audible voice.

With a flick of his wand, the old wizard produced a letter that floated before Mark's eyes.

"Did you write this letter of recommendation and send it to Miss Granger?" the old wizard asked.

"Yes." Mark confirmed with an eager nod.

"On what basis have you decided that it was safe to let Alec Earhart work for C.Y.W organization?" the man inquired

"We have been keeping him under intensive monitoring for over seven months now. During which he had taken several temporary jobs where we had his progress reported." Mark paused to clear his throat and adjust his glasses once more. "When he showed no signs of criminal behavior, I decided it was about time he took a decent job. He has a wife and two kids, one of them just started school this year and he needs a constant income." he added sympathetically.

"Then how do you explain the fact that he embezzled five thousand Galleons from funds given by the ministry to C.Y.W organization?" the old wizard quizzed.

"Well..he's human after all. We can't predict human behavior nor can we control it. We just do our best to reform it." Mark rationalized.

"So you hereby hold full responsibility for the employment recommendation of Alec Earhart in C.Y.W organization?" the old wizard emphasized his question strongly.

Mark hesitated for a moment. He glanced at Hermione who looked down at him in despair from her high chair.

"Yes." he mumbled, color rising to his skinny cheeks.

"That would be all, Mr. Odgen." the old wizard announced. Mark walked back to his seat, almost tripping over one of the steps as descended the stairs.

"Is there anything you'd like to add Miss Granger?" the old wizard finally looked back at Hermione.

"I want to make it clear that I had a good reason behind going on such a long vacation on such a short notice." Hermione said, "My mother was sick, she had to undergo surgery and she stayed in bed for almost a month, totally dependent on me since my father couldn't leave his job and stay with her." she explained, "I could not have possibly brought her to live with me in the wizarding world, and this was the first time I leave on vacation ever since I started C.Y.W five years ago. And.."

"It's alright, Miss Granger." the old wizard interjected, "I believe the Wizengamot have heard enough already." he added with a tone of finality.

The old wizard took his place next to the members of the committee. He waved his wand above his head in a circular motion and mumbled "Muffliato."

Hermione sat nervously, watching the men and women as they made a decision that would affect the one thing she had devoted her past six years to. She glanced at Harry and Ginny and they both smiled at her reassuringly.

The old wizard once again waved his wand above his head and the buzzing noise that filled everybody's ears was gone. The chief Warlock looked down at a parchment in his hand then at Hermione.

"Miss Granger, considering your impressive history with the Ministry of Magic in general for the past eight years, and with C.Y.W specifically for the past five years. As well as your undeniable efforts during the Second Wizarding War. We have decided to keep you as Chief Witch of C.Y.W organization." the warlock announced, and Hermione sighed with relief.

"However" he went on, "that recent incident showed a flaw in your management techniques. One that might be viewed as recklessness with the ministry funds. Something that shall not be tolerated." the warlock berated sternly.

"So as an attempt to reform that flaw. You are to spend a amelioration period of six months in a corporation strongly affiliated with the ministry. One that could be used as an example for impeccable management. Over the course of six months, you will study how this corporation is ran in order to apply those new techniques to your own organization."

"But what happens to C.Y.W during those six months?" Hermione questioned.

"It will be placed under the supervision of the ministry. One of our officials: Tom Herbert, will fill in your position until you're back." the warlock informed. "You will be owled a letter with further details this evening at 7 o'clock." And with that, the warlock brought the trial to an end.

Later that day, Hermione, Harry and Ginny gathered at Hermione's house to celebrate the fairly good ending of Hermione's troublesome situation.

"I can't believe this is finally over!" Hermione exclaimed as she threw herself on one of the chairs.

"It's not really over yet, six months is such a long period. I still think they were too harsh." Ginny contradicted.

"Five thousand galleons is a huge sum of money, Ginny." Harry argued, "Hermione's organization is fully dependent on ministry funds. They can't afford having that incident repeated again."

"It's alright, Ginny." Hermione smiled at her, "At first, I was taken aback by their sentence. I mean..it felt degrading. Like they were telling me I'm not good enough to run my own organization." she admitted, "But then I decided I'll have a positive approach about this. Maybe it would be a healthy change for me...with everything that's been going on lately." Hermione's voice trailed off.

Ginny's smile faded and a frown creased her forehead. "My brother is a blithering idiot." she muttered under her breath.

"Ron's great, Ginny. We just couldn't be together any longer." Hermione said, refusing to let Ginny dwell on the matter any further.

"His loss." Ginny shrugged impassively, "Let's have a drink."

A brown owl started tapping its peak at the window. Hermione opened the window and let it in. The owl stood patiently and almost solemnly as Hermione released the letter attached to its leg. The minute Hermione freed the owl from the message it held, it flew out of the window. Ginny was busy unsealing the bottle of Firewhiskey Harry had brought and pouring each of them a glass.

"What should we drink to?" Harry asked.

Hermione and Ginny looked at each other thoughtfully for a while.

"To a healthy changes." Hermione toasted.

"To a healthy change." Harry and Ginny repeated, clinking their glasses together.

Hermione opened the letter. Holding her glass in one hand and the letter in the other, she started reading. Minutes later, Hermione was choking on her drink. She was coughing and spluttering all over the letter.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" Ginny rushed to her side.

Unable to find her voice, Hermione pushed the letter into Ginny's hand. Ginny's eyes skimmed through the letter. Her eyes widened and she looked up at Harry.

"Ginny what is it? Give me that letter." Harry urged, growing impatient with the air of vagueness. He took the letter from Ginny's hand and started reading it.

" _Ms. Hermione Jean Granger,_

 _As per the trial held on the 25th of January, 2006. You are to start a six months amelioration period at the Malfoy Corporation. Your presence is requested at the corporation's headquarters at 36 Bridge St, Westminster, London._

 _Mr. Draco Malfoy, the current Chief Wizard of the corporation, will meet you at nine thirty o'clock in the morning. George Bagshot, an official from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement will be present at your house to accompany you at a quarter past nine._

 _Best regards,_

 _Edward Bones_

 _Chief Warlock_ "

Harry's mouth fell open. He gaped at the letter for a moment then he looked at Hermione was was still sitting on her chair wide eyed. He exchanged a glance with Ginny and before either of them could stop it, they burst into laughter.


	2. Chapter 2

_"Dear Mr. Draco Lucius Malfoy,_

 _In the light of our recent exchange, we would like to inform you that Ms. Hermione Granger will be present at your office tomorrow at nine thirty o'clock in the morning, accompanied by Mr. George Bagshot whom you have already met earlier at our office._

 _You are kindly requested to provide Ms. Granger with a proper work space as well as introduce her to the rest of your employees._

 _Ms. Granger is to work closely with you over the course of six months, observing and studying how the Malfoy Corporation is run. Please make sure she is included in any tasks you have on hand._

 _Your cooperation is highly appreciated by the Ministry of Magic._

 _Best regards,_

 _Edward Bones_

 _Chief Warlock"_

Draco tossed away the letter carelessly after reading it for the fifth time. He wasn't remotely excited about the situation he found himself dragged into. However, saying no to the ministry wasn't on the table. He couldn't afford losing their support when he had so many business plans that needed a lot of facilitation from them. But six months! He had to tolerate Hermione Granger's look daggers, scowls, and looks of disdain for six months!

Throughout the past couple of years, Draco has been trying to make peace with everybody from his past, even Hermione Granger. But reaching common grounds with her seemed impossible. Every time the two of them met anywhere, they seemed to have an unsaid agreement on ignoring each other's existence. One that was only broken when she'd unintentionally catch herself glowering at him. He couldn't blame her for not letting go of everything that happened when they were young, but he'd be damned if he compromised his ego by making amends with her.

No. This was his company, one that he built entirely on his own. The only achievement in his life that didn't stem from his parents or his family name. He had the upper hand in this, and if Hermione Granger dared walk into his office with her insufferable know-it-all attitude, telling him what to do, he was going to draw the line for her.

A voice in Draco's head revelled in the fact that the girl he was so competitive with throughout his entire childhood was now coming to him for guidance. But he dismissed that voice instantly; the last thing he needed was to be distracted by reviving meaningless competition with a girl that meant nothing to him now.

A sharp knock at the door brought Draco back to the mean time. A young wizard walked in announcing that Mr. Bagshot was waiting outside. Moments later, the subject of Draco's thoughts was standing before him.

As if she had been exerting an extra effort in amplifying her miss prim and proper status, she had her hair tied in an almost painful ponytail, her lips pursed and her jaw clenched. Draco's eyes skimmed through Hermione's frame as her eyes scanned him back warily.

"Good morning Mr. Malfoy" George Bagshot greeted

"Good morning Mr. Bagshot. How is Helga?" Draco casually replied, his eyes continuously travelling back to Hermione who looked like she was trying too hard to look indifferent.

"She's much better now. That potion you had recommended was of great help, thanks again" George informed gratefully.

"Don't mention it" Draco waved it off, "Ms. Granger" he finally acknowledged Hermione, putting on his most polite smile.

"Mr. Malfoy" Hermione greeted back with a curt nod.

"I believe everything had been explained in the letter you have received yesterday?" George Bagshot asked Draco.

"Of course. I've performed a few extension charms on my office and we now have a place ready for Ms. Granger. Please follow me." Draco explained as he started heading towards an adjoining room. The room looked much more spacious than expected, it had round walls, covered with windows from ceiling to floor, and Hermione stood to admire the view for a moment. An ebony desk with a huge chair dominated the room.

"This is my office." he waved his hand around the room. "And this is yours." he addressed Hermione, pointing at a desk that sat at the far end of the room.

"That's it!" Hermione exclaimed as Draco quirked one eyebrow at her.

"I beg your pardon, Ms. Granger?" George Bagshot looked quizzically at Hermione.

"I mean..I don't get a private office..there's no door? We're sharing an office?" Hermione blurted

"I didn't realize you had a preference in th…" Draco sassed, smirking at Hermione.

"Not at all." Hermione interrupted, "I just thought that with everything you have on hand, running such a demanding business and all, you'd need to be left alone in your office...I wouldn't want to be a setback in your daily routine." she feigned innocence.

"Your concern is heartwarming.." Draco snickered, "..but don't worry, you'll hardly be a distraction."

Hermione glared at Draco and started to say something before George Bagshot interrupted her.

"I believe working at the same office would make it easier for you to observe and study how Mr. Malfoy runs his daily operations at the company." George Bagshot rationalized.

"I have to go now." He announced, "Mr. Malfoy, please make sure Ms. Granger has all the assistance she needs in order to make her amileroation period here as fruitful as possible." He addressed Draco sternly. "I shall meet the two of you in two weeks at my office, you will be owled beforehand" he informed before exchanging the necessary greetings and disapparating.

"You've been here for less than fifteen minutes and you're already making objections?" Draco accused.

"First of all, that was a question not an objection. Learn the difference. Second of all, if you think you have the upper hand in this, you're mistaken. And if you think this is another opportunity for you to pick up where you left off at Hogwarts, you're also mistaken. I will _not_ let you bully me again. You'd be doing us both a favor if you keep that in mind. For the upcoming six months, we are two mature adults that need to be working together, let's act accordingly." Hermione ordered as she maintained a challenging eye contact with Draco.

"You really can't keep your mouth shut, can you? You walk into a room and you have to make sure everybody knows you have everything under control..even when you clearly don't." Draco quipped, crossing his hands over his chest and looking at Hermione in amusement.

"Drop the act, Malfoy! You did this on purpose. You could've given me a separate office but you intentionally gave me a desk right in front of yours just to keep me in front of you as a reminder that _for once_ you actually outdid me in something." Hermione jeered

Draco's cool exterior faltered for a second as Hermione's remark hit home, but he was quick to dismiss it.

"If you think I actually give you as much thought as putting myself in comparison with you _e_ _ight years later_ , then you flatter yourself too much." Draco gibed, "and to be very honest with you, I am more tempted now than ever to move that desk all the way to the fifth floor." He confessed. "But you know what? If this proximity is irritating you so much, I think I'll just sit back and enjoy it." He smirked at her before going to sit at his desk.

"You're incorrigible." Hermione huffed as she went to sit at her own desk.

Five hours had passed by and Draco was finally realizing that he had made a huge mistake when he told Hermione she was hardly going to be a distraction. The fact that he'd been staring at the same paper for the past few hours proved that Hermione Granger was going to be as distracting as it gets.


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione almost jumped off her desk when the clock finally announced her work day had ended. She waved her wand swiftly over her desk, flying several items into her bag before darting out of the room. She had been conscious of Malfoy's hooded gaze the entire day, and perfectly aware of all the times he pretended to be working while he clearly wasn't.

Part of her wished she had handled the situation differently, but the other part found her reaction extremely justified. No matter how many years had passed, and no matter how sincerely Malfoy had changed or regretted his actions, it didn't matter; because he never expressed that regret to her. The first sign of maturity was apologizing for the mistakes you can't fix, Malfoy couldn't even do that.

Instead of waiting for the dinner they have agreed on, she decided to apparate to Harry and Ginny's right away. Before the house elf could even inform Ginny of Hermione's presence, the latter made her way directly to the kitchen where Ginny was preparing lunch.

"You look like you've seen a centaur.." Ginny twisted her mouth as she scanned Hermione's face.

"Worse, I've seen a Malfoy. Spent an entire day with him to be specific." Hermione ranted.

"C'mon it can't be that bad. I've heard he'd dropped his old ways and became much...friendlier now" Ginny argued

" _Friendlier!_ " Hermione scoffed, "trust me, the man I've seen today doesn't seem to have any plans of being friendly with me."

"What had he done?" Ginny asked

"At first I thought I could survive those six months with minimal contact..like we've both silently agreed to ignore each other's existence for the past couple of years.." Hermione confessed

"But that doesn't make sense, you're supposed to work closely together.." Ginny started to counter

"Yes, thus the minimal contact part" Hermione interjected, "but he seems to be enjoying the situation I'm in! Out of all the offices he could've given me..-it's a 5 story company for Merlin's sake!- he chose to give me a desk _inside_ his own office...so he could bully me around the way he always did whenever the chance presented itself."

"Alright..so forcing you to share his office was definitely uncalled for.." Ginny admitted with a frown, "but did he do anything else?" she proceeded.

"He bluntly told me he was going to enjoy how upset I am with the entire situation.." Hermione groaned.

Just as Ginny was about to say something, Harry walked into the kitchen. He moved his eyes quizzically between the two women, exchanging a glance with Ginny.

"I was going to ask how your first day at work went, but I can already see the answer" Harry admitted to Hermione.

"He's just the most haughty, pompous prat I've ever seen!" Hermione exasperated.

"I have to say I'm surprised your encounter with him was that terrible, my recent encounters with him have been...passable" Harry remarked casually as he popped open a bottle of butterbeer, unaware of Hermione's eyes widening at him.

"You..and Malfoy..encounters? What, you're friends now?" Hermione gaped at harry incredelously.

"Not exactly friends, no" Harry amended quickly, "we just happened to work together on something recently; his company is assembling a new line of brooms for the aurors. I had to work with him a lot on the shape, power, and even the name of the broom. It's almost done and it looks great!" Harry went on with a puff of his chest that only earned him an eye roll from Hermione

"Actually I'm.." Harry stopped mid sentence, realizing what he was about to say would only make Hermione mad.

"You are.." Hermione raised her eyebrows at Harry, tilting her head to the right, while Ginny frowned questioningly.

"I'm just saying that..I got the impression that he's a lot more mature than before." Harry improvised; if Hermione knew he was actually going to meet Draco and some of the aurors this weekend at the Three Broomsticks, she'd probably feel like no one's taking her side and that would infuriate her.

"Let's talk about something more pleasant" Hermione decided to change the subject, and with that Ginny went on animatedly chatting about her Quidditch practice as lunch was being served.

The next morning, Hermione caught herself audibly whining as she dragged herself out of bed.

She kept mentally preparing herself for the worst case scenario as she got dressed and nibbled at her breakfast.

However, what Hermione saw as she walked into her office, wasn't remotely expected. She saw the back of a very familiar man, with disheveled clothes and what seemed like flowers in his hands.

"Ron! What are you doing here?" she exclaimed

Ron turned around and smiled sheepishly at Hermione his eyes travelling between hers and the floor.

"How are you doing 'Mione?" Ron was unable to stop the smile that forced itself upon him the moment he saw Hermione walk through the door.

"I'm fine Ron, what are _you_ doing here?" she demanded

"I learnt from the newspaper that you work here now, and I just had to come and talk to you. There are so many things I need to tell you, Hermione. Just give me a chance... _please_.." he pleaded.

Hermione started to say something before looking at Ron's desperate eyes and sighing.

"Hermione I'm sorry, I know you've grown tired of hearing it, and I know things deteriorated between the two of us last time, but I love you. I know what you must think of me for not being there for you when your mother fell ill..and I personally feel terrible for it." His shoulders fell as he looked away from her shamefully, "but if you give me a chance I can make it up for you, I promise. I know you need support during such a hard time in your life, please let me be that support." he sounded more apologetic than ever

"And then what, Ron? Can you not see how redundant this all is?" Hermione frowned exhaustedly. "This has been going on for years, we've been on and off ever since we left Hogwarts. Every time it's the same problem, every time it's the same excuse...every time I'm hurt." Hermione's voice faltered at the last sentence.

"I know I've hurt you, I know I haven't been the type of partner you needed..or deserved" Ron stepped closer to Hermione and held her hand, "but all I'm asking for is another chance." He insisted.

"Ron, no, you're not listening to me" Hermione shook her head as she tried to free her hand from Ron's but to no avail, "this is not about you or me being bad people, this is about us being different people...too different for a relationship between us to work. I don't want to change neither do I want you to. I just don't see a future for us, it's an infinite loop." She tried to reason with him.

"Can you put your brain on hold for a moment? Stop analyzing everything and use your heart instead.." Ron cajoled, hugging Hermione close, "don't you miss me? I'm sure _I_ did."

Ron bent his head down to kiss Hermione who froze for a moment before starting to push him away. Ron instantly stepped back from Hermione, she looked up at his face and he had a look of shock, and almost anger. She almost started berating him for kissing her before realizing he wasn't looking at her.

Hermione turned around to see what Ron was looking at, only to find Malfoy leaning at the door with his arms crossed over his chest and his head cocked to one side.

 _How long has he been standing there!_


End file.
